


Maybe just a little closer

by samariumwriting



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Horseback Riding, Nonbinary My Unit | Byleth, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Tea Parties
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:15:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24855946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samariumwriting/pseuds/samariumwriting
Summary: Marianne doesn't understand why Dimitri wants to spend so much time with her; she doesn't think her company has anything to offer him. She accepts his invitations anyway.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Marianne von Edmund, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Marianne von Edmund
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	Maybe just a little closer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [elokienn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elokienn/gifts).



> This was written for @elokienn, who won my 400 followers giveaway on twitter! She requested pre-timeskip Dimimari!! I haven't written this ship before so it was an absolute blast, and I adore writing Marianne.

“Good morning, Marianne.” Marianne jumped at the sound of the voice behind her. She spun round and came face to face with- Dimitri. She let out a small sigh of relief; out of everyone it could have been, she supposed Dimitri wasn’t too bad.

“Oh, good morning Dimitri!” she replied. She shifted on her feet; she didn’t know what to say. Dimitri was nice enough, but they’d only spoken a handful of times before. He’d insisted that she call him by name, but other than that she had no idea how to react to him.

“How are you doing this morning?” There was a small, pleasant smile on his face, one that shined with a practised ease. Marianne couldn’t help but envy him for that.

“I’m fine,” she lied. She’d been up half the night worrying about the way Lysithea had brushed her shoulder in training exercises the other day, and how the girl was frail enough already and Marianne might have pushed the final nail in the coffin by being too close to her, and-

“I see,” Dimitri said, interrupting the spiral of her thoughts. There was a knowing look on his face that probably betrayed that he didn’t believe her words. Marianne felt dread rise in her chest. “I was just...well, I was just wandering by, and I was thinking it could be- it might be nice if- perhaps you could share a pot of tea with me?”

Dimitri had turned a faint pink colour, though Marianne couldn’t quite fathom why. His fumbling over his words was nothing close to the way Marianne usually stumbled through conversation. “Okay,” she accepted, unsure of how to decline without seeming hopelessly rude.

Immediately, the foolishness of her words started to eat at her, and the thoughts wouldn’t leave her alone. Dimitri seemed pleased that she’d accepted the invitation - he’d smiled, at least, but she couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid it was. There was no way that he really wanted to talk to her— he probably just felt sorry for her.

The thoughts gnawed at her right up until their afternoon tea began. Marianne could feel herself sweating, her palms tingling as she clasped her hands in her lap. “I wasn’t sure what you liked,” Dimitri admitted, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked down at the teapot between them. “But I picked some chamomile. It’s one of my favourites; the scent is very relaxing, I hope you like it too.”

“S-sounds good,” Marianne managed. When she picked up the teacup, it was hot, and with her shaking hands she almost dropped the whole thing in her lap. As it was, she fixed her eyes on the small droplet of tea that crept down the corner of the cup, trying to bring her thoughts back under control.

“I’m glad,” Dimitri said, and she could hear his smile even as she struggled to look at it. Why was he being so nice to someone like her? “How are you finding the Academy so far, Marianne?”

Marianne faltered. “It’s- nice,” she said. It wasn’t, but she couldn’t exactly say she hated it. Dimitri wouldn’t have asked if he didn’t like it here himself, and he wouldn’t want to hear something that conflicted with the way he viewed this place.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Dimitri replied. His voice was so pleasant. It always was; every time they’d spoken to each other, his confidence in small talk had been clear for anyone to see. “I’ll admit I regretfully don’t know many of your classmates all that well. Do you get on with them?”

“They’re good people,” she managed. They were all too good to bother spending much time with her - it was safer that way anyway. “They’re quite...loud sometimes.”

Dimitri chuckled. “I know the feeling,” he said. “There are plenty of colourful characters in my class too. Sometimes I just want to go back home and find somewhere with some peace and quiet. Do you feel the same?”

Marianne fixed her eyes on the patterning on the tablecloth. “Not really,” she said, thinking of her stepfather. She didn’t want to spend more time with him, so she was fine where she was.

Her grip around the handle tightened as Dimitri’s easy conversation faltered. He tried a handful more times, in fits and starts, but Marianne just didn’t know what to say. It made her feel terrible, but there was nothing she could do to make herself good at this. She didn’t know why he’d even bothered.

“I apologise for taking up your time like this,” Dimitri said, once the teapot had run dry and the conversation ran drier. He looked genuinely upset. “I can see I made you uncomfortable; I won’t bother you again.”

Marianne’s immediate reaction was that it was good for him to avoid her - he understood that he shouldn’t spend time with her or get too close. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, the doubt hit; Dimitri had, despite how constantly she’d messed everything up, been very sweet. The effort was nice, even if she hadn’t been able to reciprocate.

As she watched him turn to leave, Marianne opened her mouth without thinking about what would come out next. “I’m s-sorry,” she started, and swallowed as Dimitri turned back around, an expression close to hope forming on his face. “I find face to face conversation like this a bit- hard. It isn’t your fault.”

At that, Dimitri’s face lit up. “Ah, I understand,” he said, fiddling with a segment of his gauntlets. “Would you...oh! I saw you in the stables the other day. Do you like horses?”

This time, Marianne managed a smile. “Yes,” she replied. “I love them.”

“Would you like to go riding with me?” Dimitri asked. He was blushing a little, which was almost...Dimitri was much taller and more intimidating than her, but Marianne would only just hesitate before calling him cute.

“I’d like that a lot,” she replied. And she knew she would; in the days between their disastrous tea time and their next free afternoon, Marianne found she was much less nervous for their next meeting than she had been for the first. Still nervous, of course, but less so than before.

As it turned out, there was no reason for her to worry so much. She met Dimitri by the stables just after lunch, and without much preamble they rode out into the forest, Marianne on Dorte and Dimitri on a grey horse she’d seen him take care of a few times.

They rode mostly in silence, merely enjoying the sounds of the forest around them and the gentle feeling of the breeze rushing past. They weren’t going quickly, but nonetheless… “Your riding form is very good,” Dimitri said.

It took Marianne a moment to reply, the beginnings of a blush forming on her cheeks. She never knew how to respond to compliments. “I like riding,” she explained. It was easier to sit up straight on a horse than elsewhere. She didn’t feel so much like she wanted to disappear.

“I do too,” Dimitri said, and there was that smile in his voice again. She quite liked the tone of his voice when he spoke like that. “Riding just lets me...get away from all the pressures of the world, I suppose. All the terrible things just melt away when I’m out here.”

A moment passed between them, and Dimitri’s gaze caught Marianne’s. It was- understanding. Dimitri understood what riding meant to her, and in turn it meant the same to him.

Being seen didn’t bother Marianne as much as she expected.

“I’m truly pleased we got the opportunity to do this,” Dimitri said later that afternoon, just as they rounded the corner to return to the stables. “It was nice to spend some time with you.”

“O-oh,” Marianne said, a small smile sneaking onto her face again. “Yes, it was. Maybe we could even… If you want to, we could do this again sometime?” Dimitri’s face lit up like he was the sun, and Marianne felt something warm settle in her chest.

* * *

“Soooo, Marianne,” Hilda said, swinging her legs at her desk. Marianne looked hesitantly up from her book. “How’s your boyfriend today?”

Marianne nearly slammed her book shut with surprise, her eyes wide. “I-I don’t understand,” she said. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Are you sure?” Hilda asked, her usual sweet smile firmly in place. “Because Prince Dimitri is  _ absolutely _ trying to date you, you know. Have you seen the way he looks at you?”

“We’re not dating,” Marianne replied, her voice wavering a little. They couldn’t be dating. “Dimitri hasn’t said anything of the sort. We just went riding together.”

“Sure you’re not,” Hilda said, and her voice had a knowing note that set Marianne on edge, even as Hilda excused herself from the conversation. Marianne was so sure that Dimitri wasn’t doing anything like that - she’d barely even considered it, and if she’d felt he was then she wouldn’t have spent so much time with him.

She remained a little unsure, a little concerned, every time she spoke to Dimitri after that, but he allayed her fears a little when they spent some more time together. Riding was simple. There was nothing romantic about it; they were just having fun.

At least, everything was fine until they rode together for the third time. Afterwards, Dimitri approached her, one hand hidden behind his back. “Marianne,” he said, and then he sealed her fate. His hand emerged, and in it he clutched a bunch of blue violets. “It would mean a lot to me if you accepted these.”

Oh no. Marianne smiled, taking them immediately, but her mind was racing almost as much as her heart. “Th-thank you!” she said. “They’re beautiful, Dimitri.”

Dimitri opened his mouth, flushed pink, and closed it again. He offered up an awkward smile and departed after only a moment. Oh no.

Marianne didn’t really want a relationship with anyone. She just didn’t think she could deliver in the way a partner deserved, especially not if that partner was Dimitri. He was a prince, soon to be a king, and she was just...she struggled to make it to the next day, even when she was feeling relatively fine.

At the same time, she didn’t want to refuse his advances. Maybe it was selfish of her to crave this, but Dimitri  _ was _ very charming. She enjoyed receiving his attention, listening to him speak. She liked spending time with him, and she was loath to give that up just because of her own failures.

She supposed that was a failure in and of itself, but she- she didn’t really know what to do about it. She didn’t think she’d be able to bear rejecting him. So Marianne looked at the flowers clutched in her hand and smiled. Maybe she could afford to be selfish just a little while longer.

* * *

“Marianne,” the Professor greeted. Marianne looked up from her book and nodded, feeling her mouth dry out. She’d said some truly frightful things to the Professor lately, things she didn’t want anyone to know, and even the prospect of talking about it made her want to sink into the earth.

“Yes, Professor?” she managed, pleased that her voice came out as more than a squeak.

“I was wondering if you’d be interested in joining my class,” they said, that carefully blank look on their face as always. It meant Marianne didn’t know how they felt about anything she said, which always set her on edge.

She thought about it for a moment. As a student from the Alliance, she was really meant to be in the Golden Deer class. That said, the Professor was a thoroughly skilled individual who clearly cared extensively about their students. On top of that, there was…

Marianne couldn’t help but imagine the look on Dimitri’s face if she joined his class. He was always so happy to spend time with her, and the thought of that happy look directed towards her of all people… Maybe it was wrong to want that for herself. Maybe it was selfish to even dare to hope that Dimitri could feel that way about her. But at the same time-

“I-if you want that, Professor,” she said. “I’d be glad to.”

And she was right; the smile on Dimitri’s face when she entered the Blue Lions classroom the following week was worth every second she spent worrying about the consequences of the decision she’d just made.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you have any thoughts, leaving a comment would be greatly appreciated. I also have a twitter @samariumwriting, I tweet about fics and fe and assorted other things.


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